From Youtube: RoboCop - Tamara's Never Seen
The premise behind this series is that Tamara somehow managed to live through the 80s without ever having seen any of the iconic films from the period. She is now watching them and filming her reactions.
Although I'm not usually as out of touch as Tamara is, with this particular iconic movie, I too didn't get around to seeing it until just a couple of years ago. My review here.
I agree with Tamara that the movie was not at all what you would expect. I was expecting a dumb action film, and was surprised by the elements of satire in it.
I part ways, however, with Tamara on her summation of the plot. I think there's a bit more going on in this movie than she gives it credit for.
Friday, April 07, 2017
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5 comments:
Tangentially: I recently re-watched Starship Troopers and found myself profoundly rattled by its end. I still think Verhoeven misfires with some frequency during that film, but overall it really rattled my cage.
My memory of the ending is a bit shaky. Could you elaborate?
I phrased that poorly -- I meant that the film's collective experience was finally quite disturbing. But the ending shouldn't make anyone watching the film feel good: Neil Patrick Harris in his Nazi SS outfit puts a hand on the captive queen bug, does his mind-meld thing, then grins with satisfaction and announces, "It feels fear!" The crowd cheers, roll credits.
And of course the days we're living in certainly add to the trenchancy of Verhoeven's commentary.
It's an interesting movie, isn't it? I didn't really know what to make of it the first time I saw it myself. (As the writer in your link said, part of the confusion was because of the way it was marketed. It was marketed as a mindless action flick, which made it a bit harder to clue into the satire.)
Have you watched the DVD with Paul Verhoeven's commentary on it? I did that a few years back, and it really helped me appreciate the movie a lot more.
Verhoeven's always worth a listen -- and I do own the DVD, so with your recommendation I shall give it another go with the commentary on.
I bought the DVD at Walmart for $4 a few years back. When the clerk scanned it, the register emitted this shrill beep that stopped her in her tracks. She consulted the unit, then gave me a sour look. "I'm supposed to make sure you're 18," she said. She was about 8 years my senior, so we shared a laugh.
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